Gate for railroad crossings and pedestrian crossings



June 28, 1932. F. w. QF'ARLAND ET AL 1,864,748

GATE FOR RAILROAD CROSSINGS AND PEDESTRIAN CROSS'INGS Filed Dec. 19. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l *7 104 6 ATTORNEi June 28, 1932. F. w. McFARLAND ET AL 1,864,743

GATE FOR RAILROAD CROSSINGS AND PEDESTRIAN CRQSSING'S Filed Dec. 19. 1950 2 Sheetg-Sheet 2 j fi T 1 fig I u Imunnnnnnmnnnnnnnnnn v 25 of the vehicle, spring means being employed members 18 and 19 are connected by welddescription is read on the drawings forming The levers 20 and 2:1 are'pivotally connecti electrically actuated or manually operated minal actuating lever 25 is pivotally connect- Patented June 28, 1932 v i UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE FRAN'GIS w. MCFARLAND, or MARTINEZ, Ann WILLIAM R. 1.01m, or BAY roman,

CALIFORNIA g GATE FOR RAILROAD onossmss AND PEDESTRIAN GROSSINGS Application filed December 19, 1930." Serial no.5oa4e4.

This invention'is for agate for railroad Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of crossings and pedestrian crossings, and has Fig. 2; a I special reference to a gate adapted for pro- Fig. 4: is an elevation of the manually optection of vehicular and pedestrian traffic at erated gate intended'for school and similar 5 railroad and similar crossings as also for crossings; i 85 the protection of pedestrian trafiic at school Fig. -5 is an elevation showing a pair of r i l n V extended cooperating gatesin operative po- The primary object of the inventionis to sition. a provide a gate which may be actuated by Similar reference characters are used to it an electrical source of power for railroad designate similar parts throughout the sevcrossings, or may be provided with manually eral views. operated means at school crossing and simi- The invention consists of a gate of the lazylar lanes of pedestrian traffic. 7 tongs type constructed of a plurality of sec- Another object of the invention is to protions hingedly connected by means of spring vide a resilient obstruction at such crossings, hinges formed of a pair of cooperating which will serve mainly as a visual warning, leaves 10 having cooperating ears 11 and 12 and which in the event of collision of an'auintegral therewith, said ears having aligntomotive vehicle therewith will not result in ing apertures cooperating with a hinge pin damage of any extent to either the gate or 13 around which is disposed a torsion spring gigg' hi l a 14 having the opposite extended ends 15 and 7 e A further object of the invention is to pro- 16 cooperating with the leaves 10, the leaves vide a gate of the lazy-tongstype, the joints being formed in abutting relation, as at 17, of which are'vertically hinged and permit between the ears 12 and resiliently retained the gate sections to swing with the movement in such relation by the springs 14. Tubular at the hinge joints to return the sections to ing or other suitable means to the leaves, the a normally projected position. members 19 being slidable within the mem- Other objects and advantagesof the invenbers 18, and forming telescopic aligning tion will become apparent as the following members.

a part of this specificatiom ed tothe leaves 10 by means of rivets or bolts The invention consists prlmarlly of a gate 22, and are provided with sleeve bushings 23. of the lazy-tongs type disposed in a housing Levers 20 and 21 are intermediately pivotand adapted to be projected therefrom by ally connected by rivets or bolts 24. The termeans, the tongs having the rest or supported to a screw actuated arm 26 which is slidaing leg of greater length than the actuated bly mounted on a vertical rod 27 and threadleg, and the terminal joints being provided edly' mounted on a screw 28, the hub 29 havwith spring hinges, whereby sag of the gate ing internal threads cooperating with the may be obviated, and the gate may be swung threads on the screw 28, and hub 30 having a 9 about a horizontal plane about each section bore to slidably fit the rod 27. thereof. The supporting or rest leg 31 is made of a o The invention is adequately illustrated in length greater than the actuating lever, as the accompanying drawings in which: indicated, and is pivotally connected to an Fig. 1 is an elevation of the gate in readjustable shoe 32'as at 33, the shoe being tracted position and disposed'in a housing adjustable longitudinally of the lazy tongs shown in section; I and in a horizontal plane. V A Fig. 2 is an enlarged view'showing one of Vertical rod 27 is anchored to the top and the spring hinged connections between two bottom of the housing'3 1 as indicated at 35 sections of the gate; and 36, and disposed parallelto the actuating screw 28 and spaced therefrom. The actuating screw 28 is mounted in bearings 37 and 38 fixed to or integral with housing 34, and has fixedly mounted thereon a worm gear 39 which cooperates with a worm 40 mounted on the shaft of a reversible motor 41, which in turn is suitably mounted on a pedestal or bracket 42 within the housing 34.

A modification of the invention is indicated in Fig. 4 in which the usual type of lazy tongs, consisting of terminally connected crossed levers 20 and 21 are intermediately pivoted as at 24, the terminal pivots 43 being preferably bushed, there being no difi'erence in the construction of levers 20 and 21 over that shown in Fig. 1. Also, the actuating arm 25 and the supporting leg or rest 31 are similar in both cases, being respectively pivotally connected to the actuating arm 26 as at p 44, which in turn is slidably mounted on the rod 27 and threadedly mounted on the screw 28, a bearing bracket 45 suitably supporting the lower end of shaft 27 and screw 28, and to a shoe 46 which is slidably mounted on a ways 47 and fixedly secured in adjusted position by a set screw 48.

A bevel gear 49 is fixed to the shaft end of screw 28 and meshes with a bevel pinion 50 fixedly secured on a shaft 51 which is rotatably mounted in the bearing 52 which is integral with the housing 53, shaft 51 having a crank extension 54 for manual operation of the lazy-tongs.

The operation of the device as indicated in Fig. 1 is as follows. A suitable source of electric power is provided for the motor 41 and controlled by any known means such as a reversing switch in combination with a circuit closing switch, or a double pole double throw switch connected for reversal of the motor, or in combination with a train controlled circuit similar tothe well known block signal systems.

Closing of the circuit to the motor 41 causes the armature and coincidently the shaft with worm 40 to rotate, driving the worm gear 39, and coincidently rotating screw 28, which causes the actuating arm 26 to travel downwardly pulling down on lever 25 and thereby projecting the lazy-tongs as indicated in Fig. 6. The adjustable shoe 32 permits adjust ment of the pivotal point 33 to compensate for sag in the extended lazy-tongs. When in the extended posit-ion, should a vehicle collide with the device, the sections would pivot about the hinge joints 13, and be resiliently urged to return to normal position by springs 14, and stopped in such position by the cooperating edges 17 of the hinge leaves 10.

The modification shown in Fig. 4 may be constructed as shown or may be of the spring hinge construction shown in Fig. 1, and is indicated as manually operated by means of the crank 54 driving the screw 28 through the cooperating bevel gears 49 and 50. To

retract the device, the crank 54 is rotated in the opposite direction, or the motor 41 is reversed, causing the arm 26 to travel upwardly.

It will be noted that variations in construction and arrangement which are consistent with the meaning and scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without detracting from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

We are aware that crossing gates of the lazy-tongs type have been made, therefore we do not claim such a combination broadly, but we do claim:

1. In combination, a lazy-tongs consisting of a plurality of resiliently restrained hingedly connected sections, means for preventing sag or drop at the hinge joints, and means for actuating said lazy-tongs.

2. In combinatioma lazy-tongs, consisting of a plurality of resiliently restrained, hingedly connected sections, each section consisting of a pair of centrally pivoted levers, the ends of which are pivotally connected to the hinge leaves, telescopic aligning members between opposite hinges and fixedly secured thereto, the depending terminal lever at one end of said'lazy-tongs being of greater length than said centrally pivoted levers, and being pivotally mounted on an adjustable support, the opposite terminal lever being connected to vertically traveling actuating. means for extending and retracting said lazy-tongs.

3. In combination, a lazy-tongs consisting of a plurality of resiliently restrained hingedly connected sections, each section consisting of a pair of levers pivotally connected at their centers, the ends thereof being pivotally connected to hinge leaves, said hinge leaves being pivotally connected to the leaves of an adjacent section, telescopic aligning members fixedly secured to opposite hinges, the depending terminal lever at one end being of greater length than the levers forming the balance of said lazytongs and being pivotally mounted on an adjustable support, the opposite terminal lever being pivotally connected to a vertically movable arm actuated by a cooperating rotating screw.

4. In combination, a lazy-tongs consisting of a plurality of pairs of levers, each pair being pivotally connected at their centers, the end of each of said levers being pivotally connected to the leaf of a hinge, the cooperating hinge leaf being connected to the ad joining section, a spring cooperating between the leaves of each hinge, each of said leaves having aflixed thereto a member of a tele scopic aligning element adapted to cooperate with the member afiixed to the leaf of the opposite hinge, said levers being of uniform length except one depending terminal lever, said one lever being of greater'length and pivotally mounted in an adjustable support, the opposite terminal lever being pivotally connected to actuating means for extending and retracting said lazy-tongs, hinge leaves being cooperatively formed to align said sections against the action of said springs.

5. A crossing gate comprising, in combination, a lazy-tongs, a housing. therefor,

said lazy-tongs consisting of a plurality of sections hingedly connected and resiliently aligned and terminating in a pair of terminal levers, telescopic aligning means cooperating between opposite hinges, and screw actuated means cooperating with one terminal lever for extending and retracting said lazy-tongs.

6. A crossing gate comprising, nation, a lazy-tongs, a housing therefor, lazy-tongs consisting of a plurality ofsections hingedly connected and resiliently aligned, each section consisting of a pair of levers pivotally connected at their centers, and being pivotally connected at their ends to the leaves of hinges, said leaves having fixedly secured thereto in cooperative relation, telescopic aligning members adapted to prevent drop between adjacent sections, an being formed with abutting edges, and springs cooperating between said leaves, one depending terminal lever being of greater length than the balance of the levers and being pivotally mounted on an adjustable support, the opposite terminal lever being pivotally connected to a screw actuated arm, a rotatable screw cooperating therewith, and means for rotating said screw.

In testimony whereof we have alfixed our signatures.

FRANCIS lV. MCFARLAND. WILLIAM R. LONG.

in combisaid 

